memory_alphafandomcom-20200223-history
Quad
A quad is a measurement of information in Federation computers. While Federation computers still use binary code in some capacity, they also are known to use trinary code. This is much more advanced than older computers which used bits (limited to a "one" or "zero" state) and bytes as small information measurements, so it is impossible to compare the bytes with quads. :The term "quad" has been theorized to be related to quadratic code, a four-state variation of binary and trinary, possible in theoretical quantum computing, however, it has been solidly established that Federation computers utilize both binary and trinary code, and no mention has ever been made of this relationship in any canon sense. If quadratic computers did exist, they would be immensely powerful, having nearly 16 million codes available. Measurement table The values of various amounts of quads can be expressed as kiloquads, megaquads, gigaquads, teraquads, petaquads or exaquads, depending on the order of magnitude of the data being expressed. :Writers and advisors deliberately used prefixes used with ''byte''s in modern day notation (mirroring ''kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte). The terminology "quad" was used to detract from comparisons possible with modern-day computing power, since reality frequently outstrips fiction when it comes to computer science. Current capabilities are exponentially greater than what scientists expected them to be only 20-30 years ago.'' Kiloquad :From the terminology, it seems a kiloquad is perhaps one thousand (10 raised to the 3th power) quads. Colloquially, the modern term kilobyte is sometimes actually used to refer to 1,024 (2 raised to the 10th power) bytes. Because of this confusion, the International Electrotechnical Commission introduced the prefixes kibi-, mebi-, gibi- (et cetera) to refer to powers of two; under this system, the techical name for 2 to the tenth bytes is a kibibyte. William Riker used some computer jargon to confuse a Ferengi attempting to hijack the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)|USS ''Enterprise-D]]'s control functions. Among the other made-up references, he mentioned 14 kiloquad processors. (TNG:"Rascals") Reginald Barclay described being transported as being converted into billions of kiloquads of data. (TNG: "Realm of Fear") In 2374, when ''Voyager'' made contact with Starfleet Command after years alone in the Delta Quadrant, transmitted hundreds of kiloquads of data home about the region they had traversed. (VOY: "Message in a Bottle") Gigaquad :From the terminology, it seems a gigaquad is perhaps one billion (10 raised to the 9th power) quads. Colloquially, the modern term gigabyte is sometimes actually used to refer to 1,073,741,824 (2 raised to the 30th power) bytes. Because of this confusion, the International Electrotechnical Commission introduced the prefixes kibi-, mebi-, gibi- (et cetera) to refer to powers of two; under this system, the techical name for 2 to the thirtieth bytes is a gibibyte. *VOY: "Twisted" *VOY: "Threshold" The Emergency Medical Holographic Program Mark I takes up '''50 billion gigaquad' of computer memory. (VOY: "Lifesigns") :The Doctor's filesize could also theoretically be expressed as '''50 million teraquad', or even as 50 ''exaquad.'' Teraquad :''From the terminology, it seems a teraquad is perhaps one trillion (10 raised to the 12th power) quads. Colloquially, the modern term terabyte is sometimes actually used to refer to 1,099,511,627,776 (2 raised to the 40th power) bytes. Because of this confusion, the International Electrotechnical Commission introduced the prefixes kibi-, mebi-, gibi- (et cetera) to refer to powers of two; under this system, the techical name for 2 to the fourtieth bytes is a tebibyte. The crew collects '''60 teraquads' of data about the graviton ellipse. (VOY:"One Small Step") The futuristic Borg drone named One was hungry for information--he assimilated 47 billion teraquads of information upon maturation. (VOY: "Drone") *VOY:"Fury" Background This terminology was originally developed by technical advisors to TNG. The unit of measurement originated in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, and was also used in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual. The terms quads and kiloquads in The Next Generation were used in a manner consistant with the system defined in the Technical Manual. However, by the time ''Voyager'' was airing, they started using extremely large numbers that lacked internal consistency, such as "billions of gigaquads" and "billions of teraquads." If these are accurate, [[USS Voyager|USS Voyager]]'s computers are more advanced and have an exponentially greater capacity than the ones just seven years earlier in TNG. Category:Measurements de:Quad